Evaluating the importance of families wellbeing for local welfare planning: a case study of the Veneto region using the partecipatory FamILens© approach

This paper examines the pluralization of local welfare actors in the Veneto Region of Italy, focusing on the role of families in promoting well-being. Specifically, the study explores whether and how local programming and planning interventions recognize families and foster their active involvement, assessing the extent to which families are recognized as active participants in local welfare systems. Researchers adopt the FamILens approach (Carrà, Moscatelli, 2024), a framework based on six principles—Accountability, Stability, Family Relations, Diversity, Involvement, and Family Networks—to assess local welfare policies. Methodology included a content analysis of the Local Welfare Area Plans (LWAP) (2023-2025), the design of a 31-item survey tool validated by 20 experts, and an interview involving 600 professionals participating in local welfare area plans (LWAP). The findings highlight families' involvement in well-being production; specifically, in LWAP, families are considered active participants or are encouraged to enhance their skills, even when facing particular vulnerabilities. Conversely, a notable weakness is that family associations remain underrepresented in territorial networks, and some difficulties emerged in the LWAP's capacity to promote the stability and enhancement of family relationships.